I’ve been away for a day or two.
Sorry to hear that, Declan. Which part do you suspect? Does he have a diagnosis? There are lots and lots of angles on elevated PSAs and prostate cancer. Hopefully your father’s story is one of the nice and easy ones.
-D/a
Well he had a biopsy done and the diagnoses was Cancer, from the disscusions of the thread its prostrate. He just had a session with the doctor, where they discussed the quality of life issues. One of the things that had me concerned was the chemo treatments being worse than the actual cancer.
Right now I am not asking him for updates, as he has a choice to make in regards to seek chemo or play it out and respecting his privacy in that regard. I figure that we are going to get an update soon regarding treatment or otherwise and I will post from that.
Declan
Ouch. From my limited and focused knowledge, chemo tends to be used if they suspect the cancer has spread. Radiation and hormones are used when it is localized. Chemo certainly can have nasty side effects..I’m not familiar with the drugs they use for prostate cancer chemo, but I can’t imagine it’s pleasant.
FWIW, I think you’re doing the right thing letting him make his own decision. My sister and I have discussed that a few times - my Dad is 72, and is certainly old enough to decide how to live the rest of his life.
Best wishes, Declan. Please keep us posted.
-D/a
Update time!
My Dad saw the radiologist this afternoon. His latest PSA is way down - in the 0.0x range. This basically tells us the hormone shot he got a few months ago is doing its job, and giving us time.
He still has almost complete incontinence. They’re sending him to a specialist for this to see if they can do anything to help.
He is scheduled for another hormone injection in July. No schedule yet for going back to the radiologist.
So…basically a holding pattern for now. But the more things go as ‘planned,’ the better I feel about it.
Any updates from our others? Declan, how is your father?
Roddy, I hope (and assume) you’re still doing well and just waiting for the next PSA…
-D/a
-D/a
I’m happy his PSA is still down. Good!! My husband had radiation for his cancer in 2004, and his PSA might creep up a bit, but then it goes down. He is not incontinent, but since the radiation he has found that he has very little if any warning that he has to go, and it can be a rush to get to the bathroom. I hope the doctors can help your dad with that.
Good news about his PSA!
Him and my mom went down to south carolina for a vacation bus tour and so far has not mentioned anything that would require need to know. He has opted to play it out and at his age, in his eighties, I really dont blame him.
Beyond that, I dont have enough information yet to pass on, but I stiil get those dread feelings every once in a while.
Declan
More men die with prostate cancer than from it. While it is nothing to dismiss, it is not normally a death sentence. Both my father and father-in-law have/had prostate cancer. My father was diagnosed when he was in his mid-60’s and decided to go the aggressive route. He had his prostate removed and with treatment and therapy is back to a normal life including sexual activity (that’s a weird conversation to have with your dad). My FIL was diagnosed when he was in his mid 70’s. He and my MIL decided to just go with the increased monitoring route. They were both concerned about the potential side effects from surgery. He has his PSA checked every 3 months. He has been on this course of monitoring for about 5 years now and continues to live a healthy normal life.
To Digital:
Congrats on Dad having the great PSA numbers!
I hope the specialist can help him with the incontinence issues. That becomes a HUGE “quality of life” situation once the Damoclean cancer has been addressed. I personally know of an older gentleman who was so embarrassed by “accidents” he simply quit drinking anything, and no convincing by his family could change his mind.
You might try initiating a conversation or two with Dad, to get his feelings about this topic.
To Omar Little:
ACK! After my father was treated for his prostate cancer, I remember talking to him about “the little blue pill.” I wouldn’t wish that conversation on ANYONE. (ESPECIALLY since I’m female…)
~VOW
Dad saw the Urologist today…they upped his Vesicare dosage from 5mg to 20mg. Maybe that will help.
Omar Little - thanks for the encouraging note. I understand the odds…and the likely hood of a good outcome. It just…well…the surgery was supposed to take care of it! So watching him have to go through more… But there really is a good chance of a happy outcome.
And yeah…that would be an odd conversation! I remember Mom commented to me once in private that Dad had gained so much weight, she no longer found him sexually attractive. Yeah…thanks, Mom. I needed to know that. 
-D/a
New Update -
Dad still have some pretty bad incontinence issues. He’s having an artificial sphincter put in on Tuesday. Surgery is scheduled for noon. Plan is for him to be admitted for the night, and released on Wednesday.
He’ll have a handful of weeks to heal after this, and then the doctor will “activate” the sphincter. With any luck, this will return him to a normal life style.
I’ll be spending Tuesday down in Miami at the hospital, mostly spending time with Mom (and maybe my sister, if she can get off work). I’ll post an update when I get home, unless it’s insanely late.
Also, his PSAs are still good…
Whew, good luck to your dad with this latest procedure!
Have your dad get some type of bracelet to indicate he has an artificial sphincter.
My uncle had an artificial sphincter, and it worked very well. He ended up in the ER (for a reason I can’t recall, but he was having some trouble communicating). They were trying to put a catheter in and he kept trying to get them to stop. They thought he just didn’t want to have the catheter, so they put it in anyway. They ruined the artificial sphincter and he had incontinence problems for the rest of his life.
Good point, pudytat72. I’ll mention it to Mom and Dad this weekend.
Finally home. Surgery went well. Dad is up and in a good mood. He says his pain level is a 1 or a 2, on a scale of 1-10. Of course, he’s also on pain killers…
The doctor said he because of the various scar tissues and titanium plates and other stuff, he opted for a slightly larger cuff than normal, which means there is a chance Dad will still have a little leakage. But that would mean one pad a day, which is WAY better than he is right now. And there is a strong change that he won’t even need that.
He’s in the hospital for the night, and should be released tomorrow afternoon. Check-up in three weeks, and activation of the appliance in 5-6 weeks.
So far, so good!
6 weeks (or so) later…time for an update in case anyone’s reading along, or looking at this in the future. (Hi, future Dopers!)
Dad had a few weeks of discomfort. The doctor finally figured out that his artificial sphincter wasn’t locked open properly, and was causing him problems. So they fixed that, and he was comfortable again.
Today, finally, was the big check-up. The doctor enabled the sphincter, and Dad now has the ability to open and close it on his own. He’s doing his first test of over an hour right now, and is very happy. It’s been a long, long road to get to this point.
And yes…we’re going to have a big dinner party soon to celebrate, assuming this works out as well as it seems to be.
Been following the thread off and on, since I last posted. Good to hear about your Dad.
Mine seems to be doing well, he has not specifically mentioned anything, but I dont notice that they are doing anything else that would indicate a more dire outcome is being planned.
Declan
Glad things are holding stable for him, Declan. It has to be weird, living with cancer..or, in your case, having a loved one living with cancer. You’re always on guard. I hope he continues to show no issues, and live a normal life.
I’m glad I re-read this..I mentioned it to my Dad before the surgery a few months ago, but just brought it up again. He agreed it was a good idea, but never did anything about it.
Just remember that Drs like “to do” something ie surgeons like to cut, so don’t let them pressure your father into anything in a hurry.
There are much better radiation treatments available now than even 5 years ago, so be careful about the treatment.
If you do opt for surgery, be aware that if the lymph glands have been removed, post op radiation can cause a permanently swollen leg- check it out on the internet-, and never believe any health professional when they try to tell you that “it’ll probably never happen” They all tell fibs.
Hmmmmm. I see that I got caught by a zombie thread! Well perhaps my advice will help someone else.
Thanks for the update, and hooray for good news!
No worries, Doggo. It’s good advice, and can’t be said often enough. It just doesn’t fit my Dad’s situation.
Which reminds me…I need to call and see how he’s doing. One day into not being incontinent!